We are pleased and grateful that the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure has decided to reconsider its new funding criteria, which effectively eliminated their funding for Planned Parenthood services. Planned Parenthood affiliates who received funds from the Komen Foundation will now be able to resume their important work in breast health care.

These past few days have demonstrated the deep resolve we all share in the fight against cancer. The outpouring of support for women in need of lifesaving breast cancer screening this week is a testament to our nation’s compassion.

Here at Six Rivers Planned Parenthood we would like to thank everyone in our community who made donations, signed an online petition, or otherwise showed your support in the past few days. Thank you for partnering with us to provide lifesaving breast cancer prevention care to women in our community.

Planned Parenthood health centers are a significant provider of breast cancer screenings and education across the country. Last year Six Rivers Planned Parenthood provided over 2,000 clinical breast exams and referred 100 patients out for screening mammograms. In addition, they are available to assist patients with enrolling in funding programs that help pay for mammograms including the Cancer Detection Program (CDP) and FamilyPACT. Education and early detection are critical to preventive health care.

Recently we had a woman visit the health center to donate in honor of her mother, Jane McPherson Banks, who died of breast cancer 30 years ago at the age of 61.

In these tough economic times, more women than ever need access to essential health care services like lifesaving breast cancer screenings. Many of the patients at Six Rivers Planned Parenthood, and at Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country, utilize Planned Parenthood for essential breast and cervical cancer screenings. For many it is the only health care they get all year. One of the patients recently shared that Six Rivers Planned Parenthood “is there for me for yearly breast cancer checks, for birth control, for pap smears, for infections. Without Planned Parenthood’s sliding scale fee, I would be unable to afford these services... in fact, I am unable to afford any other health care, as of late. My yearly visits to Planned Parenthood are the only preventive health care services I usually receive.”

Planned Parenthood shares a common goal with the Komen Foundation - advancing women’s health - and they are focused squarely on that goal. Planned Parenthood said that politics should never get in the way of women’s health care - whether it is access to birth control or breast cancer screenings and the real victims of this decision are the thousands of women who rely on these lifesaving services.

If you would like to donate to Six Rivers Planned Parenthood, visit their website at www.srpp.org and click “Donate Locally Online” or call 442-2961.